Did NBC bring Hoda Kotb to London because of bad ratings?

Jaclyn is an Idaho native who currently lives in Milwaukee. Having worked in radio, TV and as a newspaper reporter, she is an avid pop culture and news junkie. She also has a passion for photography and cooking (but is still learning to ...

But when the news of Curry’s departure was confirmed, so was Guthrie as the new co-host of the show.

On Tuesday, the NY Daily News reported that Today fourth-hour co-host Hoda Kotb was sent to London because Guthrie failed to connect with audiences while reporting on the Olympics.

“[A] show source said that the beloved Kotb, who co-hosts the wine-filled, fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford, received a call from the network on Thursday after a pre-Olympics broadcast fell short in the ratings department against the network's rival, ABC's Good Morning America,” said the NY Daily News.

The source also reportedly told the NY Daily News that “They called Hoda on Thursday begging her to go to London because they said it wasn’t working like they thought.”

However, an NBC rep told TV Guide that was far from the truth.

"It is well-known that Hoda was traveling to London to participate in the Today show's Olympic coverage because we announced it on our show three weeks ago," the rep told TVGuide.com. "She planned to spend a few days in London covering fun Olympic stories, and she talked about it on the show several times."

There is also a Facebook page that NBC starting promoting on July 9 asking for story ideas for Kotb to cover.

On Friday, she tweeted her thoughts about the London Trip.

“Packing my bags and heading to London this weekend — thx for all the story suggestions. You know I will do them!”

Whether or not people are digging Savannah Guthrie, Today’s coverage is in fact down in ratings. Normally they see a ratings spike during the Olympics, but according to TV Guide, last Thursday’s pre-Olympic coverage had 400,000 fewer viewers than Good Morning America.